Family and friends have raised more than $12,000 to help two former Red Bank volunteers injured by a fire in their Middletown home earlier this month.

George Bowden, 91, and his wife, Gladys Bowden, 88, were both injured when their condo in the Shadow Lake Village complex in the River Plaza section of the township was heavily damaged by an electrical fire on December 15.

For the past week, Lisa Keele of Red Bank and her family have cared for a fledgling robin they found lying in the road outside their Branch Avenue home. Named ‘Sam,’ the bird cannot fly and was born without a right eye.

Rats were easily evident in the yard of a McLaren Street home Thursday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank officials promised quick action Wednesday night after East Side homeowners said their neighborhood has been infested by rats.

Worthley Street residents Jeff and Allison Welker, joined by a handful of neighbors, told the borough council that they cannot allow their children or pets into their backyard because of a recurring “fireworks display” of the rodents.

The Red Bank council averted, for now, a showdown over a controversial proposed ordinance that would ban the retail sale of puppies and kittens unless they come from animal shelters and rescue organizations.

At its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night, the council postponed a vote on the measure until June 27 to allow for a possible “compromise,” Councilwoman Kathy Horgan told redbankgreen.

Red Bank’s only puppy retailer threatened to sue the borough Wednesday night if the council passes an anti-puppy-mill law that he said will put him out of business.

“I must ask how much of our taxpayer money are you willing to spend on this unconstitutional ordinance?” Bark Avenue Puppies owner Gary Hager asked the council at its semimonthly meeting. “I’m willing to spend a lot, because I have right on my side.”

Takeout sushi for breakfast? From his Red Bank office Wednesday morning, lawyer Sean Byrnes spied this osprey eating a fish atop a utility pole behind the Woman’s Club on Broad Street, a good half mile away from the nearest body of water.

Humans might also find themselves in the mood for some outdoor dining Thursday, when temperatures are expected to peak in the low 60s under partly sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service. (Photos by Sean Byrnes. Click to enlarge.)

A proposed ordinance that Red Bank’s only puppy store claims will kill its business is up for adoption by the borough council Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[UPDATE: On Tuesday, borough Clerk Pam Borghi announced that the council plans to table the proposed ordinance “pending further discussions with all stakeholders.” It’s expected to be reintroduced eat a future date, she said.]

With plenty of grass to eat and poop on, hundreds of Canada geese appeared unruffled by ‘feels like’ temperatures in the teens as they chilled out at Red Bank Regional High in Little Silver Sunday afternoon.

Down jackets are in order on the Greater Red Bank Green as a new week gets underway with more biting cold and a bit of snow in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service. Details below.

Bark Avenue owner Gary Hager cuddles Winston, a puppy brought to the council meeting by one of Hager’s customers. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

An effort to limit the sale of dogs sourced from so-called puppy mills sparked extended debate at the Red Bank council’s first regular meeting of 2018 Wednesday night.

For nearly 90 minutes, supporters of the town’s only puppy retailer, Bark Avenue Puppies, argued that the proposed ordinance would kill the shop and reduce consumer choice while having no impact on the underside of the industry.

Kitch Organic on Leighton Avenue, above, is one of eight Red Bank restaurants participating in a monthlong effort to reduce the number of plastic drinking straws that don’t make it into the recycling stream.